Regional Volleyball Preview: 3A semifinals
Halloween night is full of lots of volleyball action as the semifinals for 3A, 4A and 5A take place.
Red Oak will look to make another appearance to the regional final when they host Clarinda Thursday night in the 3A-Region 4 semifinals. The action kicks off at the Red Oak High School gymnasium at 7 p.m.
Both teams picked up 3-0 quarterfinal victories on Monday night. Red Oak defeated Clarke, while Clarinda defeated Shenandoah.
Red Oak and Clarinda is one of the best rivalries in the Hawkeye 10 conference. The matches are always close and always seem to come down to a deciding game.
There certainly has been some close matches this season. The first time the two met was at the Griswold Tournament Sept. 14. Red Oak won 2-1, giving them the tournament title.
The two met just a week later at Red Oak's tournament in the semifinals. Red Oak rallied from one game down to defeat Clarinda 2-1 and advance to the finals.
Their only non-tournament meeting this season took place Oct. 8 in Red Oak when the Tigers rallied from two games down to defeat the Cardinals 3-2.
Last season, Red Oak played Clarinda in the regional semifinals. The Tigers had to hold off the rallying Cardinals to get the win and advance on.
Red Oak will need to contend with hitters Jenny Bair and Darcy Sunderman. The two seniors combined for 34 of Clarinda's 51 kills in the Oct. 8 match. Bair, in particular, is tied for third in the Hawkeye 10 in kills with Kate Walker. Both players have 307.
Walker will be one of the key players for Red Oak Thursday night. Walker, as well as Grace Blomstedt, each had 12 kills in the win against Clarke.
The other semifinal in 3A-region 4 will be I-35 at Albia. Albia picked up a 3-0 win in the quarterfinals Monday night against Centerville. As for I-35, they had to go all five games in their win against Chariton.
The winners of both semifinal matches will face off Tuesday night in Creston for a chance to play for a state title.
Elsewhere in 3A, Kuemper Catholic will try to get to another regional final when they host Greene County in a region 3 match-up. Kuemper Catholic scored a first round win Monday night, 3-0, against Atlantic. Greene County meanwhile had a win against West Central Vally.
The other semifinal takes place in Lake View as North Polk takes on East Sac County.
The winners of both semifinals will face off Tuesday night in Denison.
In Class 4A-Region 2, Harlan looks to make another appearance in the regional final, but first they must play Dallas Center Grimes. Harlan had a first round bye, while Dallas-Center Grimes defeated Winterset 3-2.
The other semifinal will be in Council Bluffs when Creston plays Lewis Central. Lewis Central had the bye, while Creston defeated Glenwood Monday night.
The winners of both semifinals play Tuesday night at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs.
To see all the brackets, go to IGHSAU.org.